Alex Rodriguez of New York Yankees under investigation for illegal gambling, may face suspension

Associated PressThe New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez reacts after sliding past Colorado Rockies catcher Matt Pagnozzi to score on June 25 at Yankee Stadium in New York.

New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez faces a possible suspension for allegedly participating in illegal, underground poker games, ESPN New York reported Wednesday.

One of the games reportedly became violent and involved people using cocaine, the website's Wallace Matthews wrote.

"We take this very seriously and have been investigating this matter since the initial allegation," Major League Baseball said in a statement. "As part of the investigation, the commissioner's office will interview Mr. Rodriguez."

MLB officials on July 2 confirmed that they were looking into the matter when it was first reported by RadarOnline.

More recently, added an MLB executive:

"We're talking to people involved in the investigation and we're taking this very seriously," he said. "Because he had been warned about this before, I would say a possible suspension would be very much in play."

Rodriguez was cautioned by the Yankees and baseball commissioner Bud Selig in 2005 about his participation in the illegal games. The games in question reportedly involved actors Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

Rodriguez is recuperating from knee surgery and could not be reached for comment.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman on Wednesday said he knew nothing about the allegations when asked for comment.